A Life in the Day: As a child, the only roles I could identify with in period dramas were slaves and servants

The director Amma Asante, 44, talks about the British aristocrat who was the daughter of a slave and inspired her latest film

I only know it’s time to wake up when Svend, my yorkie puppy, attempts to jump
on the bed. He’s not allowed in the bedroom, but he bounds in as soon as
Soren, my husband, gets up and opens the door. The first thing I do then is
reach for my iPad to check my Twitter and the news headlines.

We’re based in The Hague and our flat overlooks a marina. I moved here from
London seven years ago so I could be with Soren; he’s Danish and he’s a
spokesman for Europol, which is based here and deals with cross-border
crime, including terrorism, human trafficking and paedophile gangs.

Breakfast is something like tea and toast, then I’ll have a shower. As a
writer and film director, I spend a lot of time researching whatever project
it is I’m working on. Writing is a slow process, and it always takes